There are a few seed companies that sell them if you do a general google search with Wild Pea of Umbria. I can send you some if you want, however, I would not be able to send you the black ones because I selected them out and planted all of them so that I can get a larger ratio of black in the mix in the following years. They’re also called Roveja. They’re said to be a climbing pea but I don’t trellis because I don’t have enough time/effort to trellis 200 feet of peas. So they tiller profusely and sprawl, climbing up and supporting each other. This also makes cutting the whole plants for harvest easier. I plant them true to fukuoka’s style where I surface sow in mid-nov through Dec and cover them with the stubble from the previous season. Once the rains come they sprout up through it all and are happy. We have about 5 or 6 hard freezes in January - Mid March which sometimes burns the plants but they spring back and by Mid-May are drying down to be harvested. Not all the plants were fully dry down this year but enough so to finish for a few days off the field and then I threshed them in a 55 galleon drum bashing them against the sides with my arm or a 2x4 would probably work. The drier they are the more easily they thresh.
Here’s a link to purchase them from uprising seeds if you want.
@RayS They are dry or could be used as a green pea but they are on the small side and so I think it makes more sense to use them only as a dry pea for easier harvest.
@Anphlo They are not that big. Most are 1/4 or 3/8 in in diameter. I’d love to see what yours look like. We should also take photos of this years harvest to see what they look like too. I think mine might shift color because we had a terrible freeze that selected out some plants.
@Lowell_McCampbell I’m not sure how big mine are but tiny compared to yours and the color is much more dull. I went in my basement and threshed a few pods to show you: here is what I mean
Those are beautiful! I tried growing chickpeas this fall and they were doing pretty great despite hungry rabbits but then we had a terrible freeze (9 degree wind chill) and I think they’re all dead.
Thanks! Interesting about how the color fades with time. You might be right! I’ll pay attention next time by threshing a few right after harvest to see!
Can’t get peas like that here in Australia. I buy mixed legume packs from Indian/Nepalese grocery stores and pick out things that look interesting. That’s my source for various coloured chickpeas. I’ll go through a bag and dig out the peas.
Edit: Here is a sample of the peas I got from a mixed legume bag I bought in the local Nepalese grocery store. Not as pretty as the umbrian peas but beggars can’t be choosers!
I’ve done this kind of thing, but more this year than prior years. Bought my first variety pack and am thinking about just throwing down some mix and setting what comes up!
I grew the Wild Pea of Umbria last year and it did very well in our short, hot summer. I saved the biggest for seed and had just enough for one meal. The cooked dry peas kept their shape, unlike regular peas. The interior was soft and tasted good. This may sound weird but it felt like the peas were feeding something in me that I didn’t know needed to be fed. I didn’t get hungry for over 6 hours after just a small bowl.
This year I plan to mix the Umbrian pea with Amplissimo Victoria Ukrainskaya pea from Giving Ground Seeds. This is a Ukrainian pea for short spring, hot summer areas.
Wow! So they must be high in some kind of nutrient that’s uncommon in most of our domesticated food diets. That’s very interesting. That sounds like a great reason to focus on those.
This is why I am also growing a variety of heirloom wheat and barley. I’m starting to see that the modern varieties are only providing a certain nutrient profile that doesn’t feed everything that we need. There is also the soil factor but that’s a different discussion.
